AMERICAN ANODCO, INC.

EPA ID# MID006029102
Last Updated: February, 2014

Site Description

The 8-acre American Anodco, Inc. Superfund site is located in an industrial park in Ionia, Ionia County, Michigan. Approximately 1,100 people reside within one mile of the site, with the nearest about one-quarter mile upgradient. A glacial-drift aquifer underlies the American Anodco facility and supplies public and private wells within a three-mile radius that serve over 10,000 people. The Grand River, which is within three miles of the site, is used for fishing and recreation.

Since 1962, American Anodco has cleaned or treated aluminum parts manufactured for the automotive industry at this facilty. Under an agreement with the state, process wastewaters and spent chemicals were discharged directly to an on-site seepage lagoon. The waste streams contained heavy metals such as manganese, boron, and nickel, plus phosphorous that leached from metal parts during the anodizing process. In order to promote wastewater infiltration, lagoon sludge and sediments were dredged in 1972 and 1978, and placed near the lagoon. In 1978, American Anodco received approval from the state to continue discharging wastewater into the lagoon. The company also disposed of process water in an unlined seepage lagoon. According to analyses conducted by United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the water placed in the lagoon contained nitric acid and chromium. In 1986, American Anodco began to phase out the use of the seepage lagoon, and in 1987, began discharging process wastewaters to a new public sewer system.

Site Responsibility

This site was addressed through federal and potentially responsible party (PRP) actions.

Threats and Contaminants

Water samples collected from the lagoon by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources in 1978 identified several contaminants, including phosphorus and heavy metals such as aluminum, chromium, copper, and lead. Because contaminants have been removed from the lagoons, direct contact with hazardous materials is unlikely. Prairie Creek, which borders the site on the east, joins the Grand River one mile south of the site. Because the groundwater is contaminated with arsenic, movement of contaminants into the creek is possible. The contamination plume does not reach any private wells and no residential water supplies have been affected.

Cleanup Progress

In 1987, as part of the facility's process to phase out the use of the lagoons, the company dewatered the lagoon, removed the sludge, and disposed of it in an off-site landfill. The lagoon was then filled with clean soil. In October 1987, the company entered into an Administrative Order on Consent to perform the Remedial Investigation and Feasibility Study. On September 27, 1993, EPA signed a "No Action" Record of Decision for the site, determining that the response at the site was complete. However, the decision called for continued groundwater monitoring to ensure that contaminant levels continue to decrease. The company has monitored the groundwater as required by an April 28, 1994 Unilateral Administrative Order from EPA.

Although EPA anticipates that the site will be deleted from the National Priorities List in the near future, institutional controls are being reviewed to ensure protectiveness.

EPA is currently reviewing the latest sampling report to determine the current extent of contamination.